Pepperdine
Cal Poly Heads Back on Road at Pepperdine and UC Davis
3/24/2025 7:30:00 PM | Baseball
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Mustangs (14-8, 6-0 BWC) come into the week as the only remaining Big West team unbeaten in conference play and will be looking to protect that streak at UC Davis (11-9, 3-2 BWC) this weekend, but not before making a midweek stop at Pepperdine (5-18, 1-2 WCC).
Last Week
Cal Poly had its eight-game winning stretch snapped while hosting #6 Oregon State at Baggett Stadium over the weekend.
A total of 7,533 attendees through the three-game series were treated to a tight and exciting trio of contests, which the Mustangs were able to take the Saturday iteration by a 7-6 score thanks to a Jack Collins walk-off home run.
The Mustangs are still 13-3 since a 1-5 start that sparked an upset over former #1 Texas A&M. Oregon State became the second-ranked non-conference opponent this season that Cal Poly has taken a win from.
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— The Big West (@BigWestSports) March 23, 2025
Cal Poly (@CalPolyBSB) walks off No. 6 Oregon State to even the series 1-1 and force a rubber match tomorrow!#?????????????????????? x #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/VT5Ug9v6bJ
ALL fight in the Mustangs! Jack Collins walks it off to upset No. 6 Oregon State ?? #NCAABaseball x ?? ESPN+ / @CalPolyBSB pic.twitter.com/Xcauqpp0iQ
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) March 23, 2025
Mustangs Riding High
Alejandro Garza finished the Oregon State series 7-for-14 with a pair of doubles and RBIs. Garza is still one of the toughest batters to strike out in NCAA Division I baseball (7th).
The hero of game two, Jack Collins got on base for the 19th and 20th times this season, collecting a quartet of RBIs in the process. Collins leads the Big West for doubles (12) and heads into the week with the 9th-most in D1 baseball.
Chris Downs, nominated for conference pitcher of the week for the second time this season, gave Cal Poly its best individual performance from the mound in the series.
In game one, Downs never needed more than five batters to retire a side and went the distance for the Mustangs with five complete innings pitched and four hits allowed. He has astoundingly not allowed a run in his last three appearances and 10 2/3 innings.
Still among the best teams in the country for fielding (25th), sacrifice bunts (25th), and doubles (19th), the Mustangs will be looking to take advantage of UC Davis and Pepperdine as both opponents are coming off series losses alongside Cal Poly looking for redemption.
The Mustangs are hitting .292 as a team and have been doing a much better job reducing their ERA as a pitching staff (5.26). They are now hovering among the top half of the Big West for nearly every major team.
At Pepperdine
The Mustangs visit Pepperdine on Tuesday at 3 pm.
Cal Poly trails 33-41 in the all-time series that dates back to 1947, making Pepperdine one of the program’s most early opponents. Despite the history, Cal Poly is 9-8 against the Waves over the last decade of competition, but neither team has strung together more than two consecutive victories in that span.
The Waves are led offensively by senior infielder Julian Nunez, batting .274 with 20 hits and 6 RBI. As a team, Pepperdine is averaging just .213 but has still managed notable wins over Long Beach State, Tulane, San Diego State, and Gonzaga.
Redshirt junior and right-handed ace starter Tommy Scavone holds a 2.17 ERA with .97 WHIP through five starts on the bump and only allows a .186 opposing batting average.
At UC Davis
Cal Poly and UC Davis are set for a three-game conference series this weekend on Friday at 6 pm, Saturday at 2 pm, and Sunday at 1 pm.
The Mustangs own an overwhelming 49-15 all-time series record over the Aggies and have beaten them 30 times in the last 40 dating back to 2011. After UC Davis beat Cal Poly two games to one in 2023’s series, the Mustangs earned redemption last year with a series sweep that they will look to replicate in defense of their undefeated record in the Big West.
UC Davis opened the conference slate with a sweep over UC Riverside and is still in the process of its Hawai’i series as of Monday but has already dropped the series. Other than UCR, Davis earned series victories over Santa Clara and Gonzaga in February.
Senior left-handed pitcher Bryan Green is one of the best starters in the conference with a 2.70 ERA and 25 strikeouts. Davis also has the third-lowest team ERA (4.17) in the Big West despite having the second least amount of strikeouts.
Junior two-way lefty Braydon Wooldridge continues to flash incredible ability in both phases of the game. Wooldridge is nearly flawless from the mound this season, only allowing one sole hit and no earned runs in three appearances and eight complete innings. From the batter’s box, he leads the conference with a .396 average.
